While on the train down from Leeds I had texted Uncle Walt the station and time Id be arriving. However, not receiving a confirmation message in return, I began to wonder what would await me when I disembarked. To my relief I found my mom, Simon, and Simons rental car waiting for me. Simon seemed pretty grumpy about having to pick me up and all the headlights shining in his eyes at that time of night. But I was learning that that was just Simons way.
The old house was by now abuzz with activity as my cousin, Fraser, and his unique dog, Rocky, were now also in residence. Mom seemed to be in good spirits and happy to have me back in the fold. Apparently, Uncle Walt and Simon, had enjoyed ganging up and teasing her over the weekend. Little brothers can never resist having a devilish tweak at their older sisters. Even in their it seems!
My room was as I left it with the North Seas winds still clattering away at the window. All five of us went out to dinner at the local haunt, the Ship Inn. In fact, we would go on to
have multiple dinners there during our stay. It was only a five minute walk along the bay from the house. Once inside we would settle into the cozy environment, drinking and eating local fare, and discussing the current state of the world.
It was great having Fraser around. With my uncle spending so much of his time in London and Fraser living in nearby Edinburgh, Fraser now had sort of the laird of the manor. He knew everybody in town and had all these projects he was working on. He showed us how he was fixing up the back cottages and his plans for future endeavors. Also with him around, we no longer had up with activities for ourselves. As Fraser always came up with something for us to do and was so enthusiastic about our doing it.
The first day we took a long walk to a nature area that we would have never even know existed. Through local lands and past private gates. The air was filled with an autumn coolth. Along the way Simon would whip out his smartphone and take pictures of all the local plants in order to identify them
with his new app. Eventually we came out on to a large body of inland water. Across the water an ancient structure loomed up in the hazy distance. There was an aura of absolute peace and quiet wonder. Afterwards, we would walk back to town and take tea at the pavilion caf. This quickly morphed into an feed as the result of healthy worked up appetites.
That evening I took a solo walk up the coast and crags. Along the way I saw a truly remarkable sight. A couple of young local girls kitted up in bathing suits plunging into the cold ocean. This was Scotland in November, so you know the water had to be freezing. I remembered diving into these very waters on a July day twenty years earlier and I barely lasted a minute even then. What was amusing was the slim and slender one kept frigidly hopping in and out of the water, while the rather portly girl just swam serenely. A little meat on your bones in handy. But mad Scotswomen, eh.
built in 1770. It was built for Lady Janet Anstruther, a young noblewoman renowned for her beauty. She would change and later recover in the tower following bracing skinny dips in the water down below. Back then her servants would warn off curious onlookers with bells and withering glances. However, the servants were not there that day. Unfortunately for me, neither was Lady Janet.
I had remembered the place from family walks when I was a kid and was glad to have gone back to the tower on my own. I was the only soul around looking out of its portals at the roiling sea and gazing up upon the towers old stone walls. Dinner had begun to call however. I walked to the house in awe and very much alive in the moment. The town puts on the most gorgeous light show at dusk. Silvery waters and soaring art filled skies.
The next day brought another excursion.
